Babione 6

I've Moved

2011-04-17T15:57:00.002-05:00

I have finally made the move to the dark side. After over three years on Blogger I am now blogging at wordpress. Please join me over there. If you don't, I will be very lonely and will probably cry. www.bridgetbabione.wordpress.com I can't wait to share my new place with you all!!! Bridget

Divine Life

2011-04-17T09:48:00.005-05:00

(* I am completely over blogspot right now. I did not write this post as one long paragraph. But when I publish it, blogspot changes it and I don't know how to fix it. UGH.) I used to think that the Eternal Life that I was given through Christ Jesus meant that after my physical body died my spirit would live forever with Him in Heaven. That His sacrifice gave me the ability to live MY LIFE forever. I have since come to understand something quite different and much more beautiful. You see, I was reading Scripture with myself as the focus. Every story I read I tried to fit myself into. Every letter of Paul's I tried to figure out how it pertained to MY LIFE. Here's the rub: Scripture isn't about me. It isn't about you. Scripture is solely about one person. Our magnificent Lord Jesus. From the first page to the last, it is all about Jesus. God is enraptured with one Person, His Son. Jesus Christ is the thing that is always on God's mind. And Since Scripture is God-breathed, the only thing that God talks about is His Son. "All Scripture testifies of me." -Jesus Every story in Scripture is a picture of Jesus. I used to read about people in Scripture and try to see how my life fit with theirs or hoped that the Lord would use me in as grand a way as He used them. I was so focused on me. On MY LIFE. Now I realize that all those people in Scripture are pictures of Jesus. There are aspects of our Lord in those people and those stories. They aren't to be read to figure out MY LIFE. They are to be read to know our Lord more. God wasn't thinking about me when He inspired Scripture to be written. He was thinking about His Precious Son. And He wrote Jesus onto every page. Now when I read the Bible, my focus isn't on how this pertains to me or how I need to change MY LIFE to fit. And since I have started reading the Bible to find Jesus in it, the Scriptures have opened up amazingly. The depth, the clarity, the beauty; it's all Christ. After understanding this, a new revelation dawned. For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to a NEW LIFE because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. Col. 2:12 Since you have been raised to NEW LIFE with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God's right hand in the place of honor and power. Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth. For you died when Christ died, and your REAL LIFE is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, WHO IS YOUR REAL LIFE, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. Col. 3:1-4 When I believed on Christ and confessed Him as my Lord and was baptized something amazing happened. I WAS BURIED WITH CHRIST. Bridget was buried. We don't bury things that still have life in them. We bury things that are dead. I was dead. Dead in my sin. And I was buried. But God in His infinite mercy and grace gave me NEW LIFE. He gave me HIS SON. I now have Christ living in me. Christ is my life. He is the ONLY real life. Because He is living in me I am now alive in Him. And here's the rub, It's not MY LIFE anymore. I am now living by another life. Christ's life. He is living HIS LIFE in and through me. It's not about me. It's always about HIM. And it's not MY LIFE anymore. It's His. His beautiful, glorious, powerful, peaceful, joyful, restful LIFE. The only REAL LIFE. DIVINE LIFE. "Christ in you, the hope of glory." -Paul

Paint Update

2011-04-15T06:00:00.000-05:00

Sorry it's taken so long to show you my painting progress. I've been painting small sections at a time so it's taken a while for one room to be complete. The kitchen is finished as well but it isn't clean so I don't have any pictures of it yet. Soon. The office before: The 'office' is actually just a wall in our dining room. This works great though because we do school at the dining table so if I'm on the computer then I'm very close at hand for the kids. The after: basically paint and organization.

The dining room before: you know how on those infomercials where they show the before of someone without any makeup on and no smile so that the after is even more dramatic. Welcome to my makeupless and smileless dining room.

The after: I painted stripes on one wall. I love them. They add a little somethun - somethun, you know? I also changed out the curtains with some I had in a box. Fabric is a weakness of mine so I have lots stored just waiting to be used.

Don't forget-you can click on the pictures to see them bigger.

Bridge

Lazy Day Lasagna

2011-04-14T07:16:00.004-05:00

Bobo helped me cook dinner last night. We made lasagna. Lazy Day Lasagna. The reason it is called Lazy Day Lasagna is because this is a lasagna recipe where you don't cook the noodles before you assemble the lasagna. My kind of cooking. First you brown the hamburger meat. We used about a pound and a half. While the hamburger meat is browning, add one carton (15 oz) of ricotta cheese to a mixing bowl.

Then two tablespoons of Parmesan cheese.

One teaspoon of Italian seasoning.

And combine.

Once the meat was browned we added one and a half jars of spaghetti sauce. (about 40 oz)

Now assembly time. First start by putting about 1.5 cups of sauce/meat on bottom of casserole dish.

Then layer on your uncooked noodles.

Then add half of the ricotta cheese mixture, spreading to cover the noodles.

Sprinkle 1 cup of mozzarella cheese on.

Then start the process over. 1.5 cups of sauce/meat.

Noodles.

Ricotta and mozzarella.

Finally, pour the rest of the sauce/meat mixture on making sure to cover the noodles and sprinkle with even more mozzarella.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Let cool for about 15 minutes

And serve with some garlic bread.

Yummy!

Bridge

Daddy Daughter Date Night

2011-04-08T13:16:00.002-05:00

Chick Fillet had the brilliant idea of hosting a Daddy Daughter Date Night. When R.C. saw the advertisement he signed right up.

Princess had a blast. As did R.C.. Chick Fillet actually hired a limousine to bring the guests to Chick Fillet. When you signed up you were given a time for your date. If you wanted the free limo ride you had to be in the Best Buy parking lot 15 minutes before your time. (The Best Buy parking lot was across the street from Chick Fillet. The limo driver took a longer than necessary route to Chick Fillet, but it was still a short ride. We thought it was a really fun idea and nice touch to the evening.)

These pictures were taken by the photographer at the restaurant. I think they are priceless. This is definitely the first of many.

Bridge

Blogging in Real Time

2011-04-05T14:46:00.004-05:00

It's Tuesday afternoon. We actually accomplished school today for the first time in two weeks. (Yesterday we graded everything and got caught up) Also, Yesterday morning Popeye came to me and asked what he could do to help me. Not really having anything that I could think of that I wouldn't have to help him do I just threw out there, "You can make my bed." I wasn't sure if he would reply that he didn't know how, but instead he smiled and headed up stairs. What a blessing. And it never even crossed my mind to remake it. It was beautiful to me. (anyway, if I'm ok living with it unmade why wouldn't I be fine with it like this?) So, after we finished most of our school today (yes, we still need to grade math and read science) we headed to Michael's for some fun. I needed to get out and so did the kids. I gave them each a budget of $2.

Popeye found a snake that came with paint. His favorite color, too.

Princess found a horse that came with markers in pink, purple, and yellow. Every girl's dream.

Bear also got the snake. I'm gonna make him write a story about it. Bobo opted to wait till he could add his own money to the $2 and buy something a bit more pricey.

After Michael's we hit up Walmart. I'll give you two guesses as to what I bought and the first one doesn't count.

Yup.

I've lived with the white walls for a week and a half and I just can't do it anymore. (it doesn't help that they are dirty and scuffed up pretty bad.)

I plan on starting tomorrow evening.

Bridge

I had forgotten what this feels like...

2011-03-30T14:10:00.005-05:00

...being sick, that is. Yup, round numero cinco. We are moved and I had hoped to have some pics of the new digs up by now. However, my body had other plans. Princess is still down as well. Yesterday was probably her worst day, but she is better today and as long as she keeps improving we won't be taking her to the doctor. But as soon as she seems worse we are there. Suffice it to say, I don't have much energy for blog writing. Thanks for being patient with me. I promise, I will invite you all to the new place soon. Love, Bridge *I don't know why blogger is putting my post in this way. This is not the way I wrote it (all in one paragraph) you guys know I don't write like that, even when I'm partially out of it due to sickness. Whatever.

Going Four Rounds

2011-03-24T07:40:00.002-05:00

Popeye started his fever on Sunday.

Bobo started his fever on Monday.

Bear started his fever on Tuesday.

Princess started her fever this morning.

It seems to hang around for three days and then is gone. All have congested coughs, runny noses, and aches. And like most coughs, they seem to linger longer.

But, in better news: R.C.'s parents fly in today! WAHOO!!

Things are about to get crazy. We move on Saturday and Toby and Brenda move on Sunday. And while I should be busy packing things and organizing things I can't seem to get anything done. Does anyone else do that? Like the day before you are going to be really busy do you just sort of shut down? My mind just turned off yesterday. I literally accomplished nothing but meals and a shower.

Today, however, is go, go, go.

We are taking a friend to her doctors appointment, picking up Ronny and Susan from the airport, taking R.C. some lunch, picking up some pictures from Walgreens (have to have a pic of the cat and dog for the landlords), and picking up Brenda's kids from school.

I am putting the travel tv in the car. We are going to spend most of the day there. And, sick kids can sleep or chill in a car just as easy as they can sleep or chill at home.

I hope to keep posting during the move, but I'm not sure when our internet is getting turned on. So this might be adieu for a bit.

See you on the other side. =)

Bridge

The Love of Our Life

2011-03-22T07:31:00.002-05:00

R.C. and I celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary today.

Our marriage began with the odds stacked against us. I'm sure few thought we would ever make it 13 years.

Our marriage is a miracle. Neither R.C. nor I claim to have anything to do with making this work.

But one thing I know: We have found the Love of our life.

And it is not each other.

I am not the Love of R.C.'s life.

He is not the Love of mine.

Our soul mate is another, and His name is Jesus.

We are madly in love with our Lord. And He is madly in love with us.

And it is His Love that makes us madly in love with each other. Christ in R.C. is completely captivating to me. I am passionately attracted to Him.

And the more I know Him, the more I love him.

And today I am even more smitten then I was the day we said 'I do'.

Christ is All.

Bridge

Doctor, Doctor, Give Me the News

2011-03-21T10:05:00.003-05:00

We move into our new place on Saturday. Life is very busy with all the things that go with moving.

It is also very busy with sick kids.

Yup.

Brenda's son was sick all weekend. Fever. Sore throat. Aches.

Popeye started his fever last night.

Bobo started his this morning.

And Bear, while not running a fever, "doesn't feel well. I am coughing and stuff."

So, this morning, the boys are laying in bed watching movies, while Princess and I take care of moving stuff.

At least I can pack boxes instead of doing school.

Oh, and R.C.'s parents are flying in on Thursday to help!

Thank You, Lord!

Bridge

Turner Field

2011-03-18T12:00:00.001-05:00

When we made the trek from Oklahoma to Florida we decided to break it up a bit. And since the Atlanta Braves were having a series at home we figured that was a great place to stop and stay awhile.

Well...two days awhile.

We bought R.C., Bobo, and Princess Braves t-shirts. Bear and Popeye were disappointed, but they already had baseball t-shirts in the right colors so we made do. And I, of course, wore whatever I wanted. (Don't worry, it was navy. I still represented.)
We got to the game plenty early. The stadium is beautiful and the atmosphere was exciting. R.C. has been a Braves fan for a very long time. He has been to a handful of Braves games, but never one at Turner Field. This was a big day.

And let me give you a little more perspective on our love for the Braves. We took this picture of Dale Murphy's number because our precious little nephew is named after him. And not just that, but his first name is also after another old Braves player. David Justus and Dale Murphy: meet Justus Dale. =)

I'm completely serious, people. Ask his mother.

The weather was gorgeous and we had great seats. This was the last home series of the season and because the manager, Bobby Cox, was retiring they were running a special. We couldn't pass it up.Our seats were so good that they actually had "waiters" for our section. They handed us menus and then would take our orders. The food was delivered to us at our seats. The waiters were available till the 8th inning. It was awesome! Here is Bobby receiving some special gift. It will be different next year not seeing him in the dugout. Have I told you how awesome my camera is? =)(check out the ball in the upper right corner) Here's another just to make sure you understand.The stadium wasn't too full, but it was a weekday, afternoon game. That's to be expected. And we actually enjoyed it not being crazy packed. The kids really enjoyed the game. I took this picture to get the WELCOME TO TURNER FIELD. HOME OF THE ATLANTA BRAVES. See, people. I wore navy. I have been to three Atlanta Braves baseball games before this one. One in Dallas and two in Houston. It really is different when it is a home game. Once again, a shout out to my camera.

Popeye looks precious in this picture, but you have to notice Bear, too. Hehe.This is the closer, Wagner. They make such a big deal over the closers when they come out of the bull pen. It really is something. I thought it was cool that I could get a picture of him in motion and his name on fire. Oh, and I have no idea what his first name is and I only remembered his last name bc it is in the picture. A girl can only go so far in supporting her husband"s team. Especially now that they aren't on TBS everyday.

According to this part of the fence the Brave's organization is "the longest continuously operating franchise in Major League Baseball". That's pretty cool. And we capped the day off with a win! I know that most of you who read my blog get on here to see the kiddos. So, here you go. We got into Atlanta the night before. We slept late that morning, had lunch at Chic-fil-a, (thank goodness for restaurants with playgrounds) and then spent the rest of the day at Turner Field.

It was a great experience and I'm so glad we took the time to do it.

Bridge

Too Cool (or Hot)

2011-03-18T06:00:00.001-05:00

I took this picture right before we moved to Florida. We were driving from our house to my parent's house an hour and a half away. We were on the interstate going 70 miiles per hour. I rolled down my window, zoomed in as close as I could, and snapped away as R.C. sped past.

Pretty cool, no?

Anyone else have an awesome camera out there?

Bridge

Lungs Getting Stronger

2011-03-17T11:01:00.005-05:00

My friend Drayton is teaching me how to run longer and getting my lungs stronger. It is really fun. Sometimes when I don't want to run to my limit away from my house to the other we would catch the baseball. Every time I miss the ball I chase it. That gets my lungs stronger. Soon my lungs will get as strong as his. Then I will be able to run alot longer and better. It is really fun to play with my friend. He is even teaching me to trust my body more. He teaches me to jump longer and jump off higher places. Not to high though. That is all I have to say. Bye.

Bear

Heart Break

2011-03-17T06:00:00.002-05:00

Our cat has taken a "lover".

Kidding. As far as we know they are just "friends".

Toby and Brenda have a cat. His name is Mike and he is "part dog".

Kidding again. As far as we know he is "all cat".

Anywho...Milli and Mike have taken a liking to each other since we "moved in". It took some time and some persistence on Mike's part, but he finally won Milli "over".

And just the other day we caught them "holding paws".

Yup. "Holding paws".

You can click on the photo to make it "bigger".

We don't know what they're gonna do when we "move out". I'm sure we're gonna have to have "play dates" with them. I just hope Milli isn't too "heartbroken".

Bridge

(yes, I'm in a silly mood. My cat's love life is funny to me.)

We love the library(s)

2011-03-16T06:00:00.001-05:00

A huge benefit to living in a larger city when you home school is the libraries. We have one about one mile away from us. This won't change when we move bc we are literally moving around the corner.

Last week, Josh needed a poetry book for Language Arts. The library closest to us had it, but you couldn't check it out. We just stayed at the library that day and did LA there. However, his poetry unit is a few weeks long and I knew that we couldn't go to the library every day for LA. Big city hoopla here. One of the other libraries in town had it and would let us check it out.

We are in our fourth year of homeschooling. Our first three years were spent in Small Town, USA. While we visited the library often, it wasn't the best resource for school. The libraries here are blowing our minds. =) We all find books to enjoy. And the two little ones really enjoy sitting at a table and looking through their books while the bigger ones are hunting certain books down. We easily spend an hour just picking out books.

Bobo is on the third book in a series called The Tapestry by Henry H. Neff. He loves to read. Bear is starting to enjoy reading more. He is good at reading, but would rather be doing something more active. He's my mover. Popeye is picking up reading as well. He isn't as confident in it as he is in math, but he loves learning and gets really excited when he realizes he can read a new book. Princess is desperately ready to read. She brings her school workbooks to me and cries if we can't do school right then.

I got two decorating books (I can't stop), a book on manners, a book on homeschooling (you can never know enough), and a book on style. I've already read the book on style (we went on Monday) and I'm glad to report that I just happen to have most of the basics you shouldn't live without. I also, by chance, found two DVDs that teach french for kids. I'm totally going to use them. And I'll make the kids watch them too so I have people to speak french with.

Until I go to France someday.

Bridge

Brady Bunch, Babez Style

2011-03-15T08:00:00.001-05:00

For the last 5 1/2 months we have been sharing a house with another family. Toby and Brenda have two kids, a son age 13 and a daughter age 10. Hubs and Toby have known each other since they were 5 and Brenda and I met through our husbands in 2007. We are now family.

Combining two unrelated families has been hard, but we have gotten to know each other and more importantly, Christ, so much more through this experience. When you live with others it is very easy to see their issues. It is harder to look past those issues, knowing they have been buried with Christ, and to see Christ within them instead. Especially when their issues directly affect you.

But that is one of the many lessons we have learned in this season. Not perfectly, mind you, but learned more of. Christ wants us to see Him in others, because He is who his father sees in us.

Anywho...this is how we worked things out furniture wise in our 2400 sq ft house.

This is the kitchen and family room. Brenda's dining table fits in the 'eat in' area and our table, sofa, china cabinet, and our recliner, plus theirs all fits. And this way the kids eat at one table while the adults eat at the other (neither of us has a table that can seat 10) and we are all eating in the same room.

My dining table sits in front of the fire place. The fire place is two sided which worked out wonderfully at Christmas time because each family got to hang their stockings from one of the mantles. It actually got cold enough here in sunny Florida to have a fire going a few times this past winter. This is the other side of the fire place. Brenda's sectional fits perfectly in what I think is supposed to be the formal living room. It worked out for both families to have their living room furniture in the house. When we moved here both husbands were working for New York Life. The office was set up in the dining room. Now neither husband works for NYL, but the dining room still works great as the office. The four adults hang out in here alot together. Princess and Brenda's daughter share a room. No, it's not usually this messy. Our three boys and Brenda's son share the master bedroom. Beware of the master bathroom

Then, Toby and Brenda have a bedroom and R.C. and I have a bedroom. Four bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, two living spaces, two dining spaces, and a big office have worked great for us. There is also a sun room, but it is now the 'garage sale stuff' and 'packing boxes stuff 'room so I didn't take a picture of it. Also, the garage is FULL.

When we moved in we didn't expect it to last this long. However, now it feels like it was just the blink of an eye. We have had ups and downs, but it has all been worth it. And we will leave this season knowing our Lord more, and loving our friends more.

Here is Toby's take on things.

Our Lord is so faithful.

Bridge

Florida update

2011-03-14T16:14:00.002-05:00

Hello e-world!

It is good to be back.

It is mid-march and things are changing around here.

1. Husband has a new job that he started two weeks ago and he is loving it.

2. We are moving out of 'the compound' by the end of March.

We are super excited about these new changes and I am super excited to get settled and to get back to sharing our life with you here at Babione 6. It is suprisingly hard to share things when everything is up in the air. So, sorry for the absence. I have missed you.

Talk to you again soon,
Bridget

Tigers

2011-01-21T13:00:00.000-06:00

Tigers is bite. Tigers scratch. Tigers is awesome.

Lions like tigers. Cause them have sharp claws too.

Them do roars. Roar. Roar.

Them rock!

They're like cats cause them do meow, meow.

And them really cool and awesome.

And that's all!

Princess

Star Wars

2011-01-21T06:00:00.000-06:00

I like it very alot.

And it's awesome.

And it has guns.

And it has light sabers

It has person clones. And it has Jedis. And it has droids.

It has wars.

And ships.

That should be all.

Popeye

My birthday

2011-01-20T09:59:00.006-06:00

My birthday was a fun birthday. I turned ten. We had puppy chow for desert. I got he-man shows from my granddad and my grandma. I was so happy. My grandpa and my grandma who we call tam tam got me a osu hoody. Some of my friend's came over. They got me a sillyband two pencils and a eraser. For lunch we were going to chukechees but we had to do something els. So we had mckdonleds for lunch instead. I got lots of cards with money. Mom hasnt let me spend it yet.

Bear.

Naughty Cat

2011-01-13T13:24:00.004-06:00

Yesterday was Bear's 10th birthday. He'll be here tomorrow to tell you all about it. What I'm here to tell you about is our cat.

Naughty, naughty cat.

Last night some friends came over to help us celebrate Bear's 10th year. As they were coming in the door, Millicent Pearl ran out.

Into the dark.

Into the dark wooded lot.

Into the dark, cold, wooded lot.

We spent some time looking for her with flashlights and we left the garage door open as long as we could.

I hoped for her safe return. Her previous owner had her as an indoor/outdoor cat so she was familiar with the outside. But we had her declawed one week after getting her and she has been indoors since. Plus, this is all new area and it was gonna be below freezing during the night.

Luckily, at 3:30 am Brenda heard meowing outside her bedroom window. After waking up enought to realize what it was, she opened the window and let Milli in. She also carried Milli (to help warm her up) out to the food and litter and made sure there was food and water.

When I woke this morning I was told that we only get one 3:30 am rescue. :) Next time, it's on us.

After loving on Milli for a bit (she was camped out on the couch) we went on about our business. Until Husband noticed her limping. And as I watched her I saw it too. An obvious limp on her back right leg.

Thinking she might have a splinter or thorn in her foot I picked her up to check things out. What I found instead was a gash about an inch and a half long.

We have doctored her up best we can and now are just waiting. She seems to be resting well enough. Hopefully nothing will get infected and she will be ok without having to involve the vet.

I keep telling her, "This is why we don't let you outside. I hope you've learned your lesson."

I'm sure she understands. The annoyed look on her face tells me so.

Bridget

He is 35

2011-01-11T16:07:00.002-06:00

Husband turned 35 yesterday.

He wrote about it on his blog.

Check it out.

Bridge

It's In His Blood

2011-01-03T10:58:00.002-06:00

On Saturday, Husband and I went for a little date. We ate Panera (yay Frontega Chicken Sandwich and Broccoli Cheddar Soup!) and then went to see The Tourist. I must tell ya, The Tourist was great. Hubs and I highly recommend it!

But it was what happened when we got home that was even better.

Upon returning home, I went straight into the kids bedrooms to say hello and check on them. Bear immediately pulled out a piece of notebook paper that he had drawn on to show me his picture.

On the left side of the paper was an alligator with the caption "Go Gators!" written above it. It's only been three months and he is already converted.

But he quickly pointed to the other side of the paper where he had drawn Pistol Pete and written "Go Cowboys" above it.

His explanation...

"I have to love the Cowboys. It's in my blood."

Yes, Bear, it is. ;-)

Bridget

*My father graduated from Oklahoma State. I grew up going to OSU football games. My parents still have season tickets and attend every bowl game they can. Just got back from San Antonio, actually. One sister has graduated from OSU and my other sister will graduate from OSU this year. We love our Cowboys! And luckily, Husband has always preferred OSU to OU too!
Here's Bobo's birthday in 2009.

Twenty Ten

2010-12-30T17:36:00.006-06:00

Two thousand ten has been a year of many changes for us. I was preparing to tell you all about them but when I finally put my fingers to the keys the words just would not come.

That has been the story of my blog life lately. Our lives are so full right now, but for some reason, known only to Christ, I cannot form the sentences to tell you about it.

We are daily falling head over heels in love with our Precious Lord. He is beyond anything we could imagine and is so very other than we expect.

He is stealing our hearts and consuming our minds.

He is gentle.
He is compassionate.
He is funny.
He is patient.
He is faithful.
Always.

He doesn't give us joy. He gives us Himself. And in giving us Himself, He gives us joy, because He is joy.
He is peace.
He is truth.
He is rest.
He is knowledge.
He is confidence.
He is love.

These are not things that can be had apart from Christ. They can only be had in Him. And as children of the Most High God we are in Him.

This truth is becoming our reality in a deep and profound way. It is changing our lives like never before.

I look forward to sharing more with you in the future. I hope that 2010 brought you more of Christ and that 2011 does the same. Our Lord is a vast ocean whose depths we can never entirely plumb. Let us not mistakenly think that we have need to 'move on' from Christ. He is the ALL. IN. ALL. Nothing is apart from Him for those of us who believe.

Christ Jesus, our LORD.
Our EVERYTHING.

Bridget

Popeye's Lost Tooth

2010-12-15T11:35:00.002-06:00

Popeye lost his first tooth on Sunday, in the back of the van, on our way home from Jacksonville. He was thrilled.

Before he went to bed that night I asked him if he wanted to put his tooth under his pillow or if he wanted to just give it to me now and I would give him the money. (I know, not cool. But we tell our kids the aweful truth and then let them pretend) He said he wanted to put it under his pillow.

When he woke up the next morning I asked him if he found his money under his pillow. He said, "Yes, it was just a dollar."

????

How much does my SEVEN year old think a tiny little tooth is worth?

"Well, it was a small tooth." I said.

He just shrugged and grinned at me.

That tooth might not be worth much in my book, but that grin sure is.

Bridget

Our Out of this Universe Vacation in Orlando

2010-12-13T08:20:00.007-06:00

We spent three days in Orlando, FL at Universal Studios last week. R.C.'s parents, sister, brother in-law, and nephew flew down to be with us. The trip was actually our Christmas present from R.C.'s parents. It was wonderful!!!

The first picture is looking out our hotel window.

We got to meet some of our favorite Super Heroes.

And Popeye got his picture with Popeye! =)

We rode all available rides.

And snuggled when it got cold. Actually, the forecast for the week was in the upper 50s / lower 60s. However, it never got above the upper 40s / lower 50s. We weren't prepared. So Monday night R.C. and I made a run to Walgreens to pick up two dollar hats and gloves for everyone. Then on Tuesday we put on lots and lots of layers.

Jaws was very friendly. Here we are waiting in line at one of the Universal Studios attractions. Because we stayed at one of the Universal Hotels we were able to purchase the Express Pass and just have it attached to our room keys. All we had to do was let them scan our hotel room keys and we were able to get in to the express lane for most all the rides and shows. We never waited longer than 10 minutes for anything. It was wonderful!

Our precious nephew. We tried on some hats for size. And really got into character. I don't know where they get this idea that it's fun to try on hats and stuff. All bundled up and heading out on Tuesday. There was a big mirror in the elevator so I took a chance on snagging a picture of the group that I'm actually in (though I'm behind the camera). Aunt Molly. New Mommy. (She's fabulous at it) Molly and Jimmy are big Harry Potter fans. Island's of Adventure has a whole area devoted to all things Harry Potter. It was the busiest place in the park.

The obligatory picture in front of the Universal fountain. Princess was not happy about it.

Bobo took this picture of us.

And you can't have a Christmas Vacation without a picture in front of the huge Christmas Tree in the lobby of the hotel.

We had so much fun! Thank you so much, Ronny and Susan, for a great Christmas experience and the joy of getting to experience it with you!

Bridget

Berry Christmas!

2010-12-03T09:55:00.005-06:00

Our neighbor has a beautiful berry tree in his front yard. Yesterday I snagged the kids, two at a time, for some pictures. They were in goofy moods as usual.

We have a busy weekend and on Sunday we head to Orlando to meet RC's parent's and sister and family at Universal Studios. We are super excited! I'm taking both The Camera and the video camera.

We'll have lots to share when we return, but probably won't be back to the ol' blog till late next week.

See you then!
Bridget

Fall in Florida

2010-11-28T14:43:00.006-06:00

Our Thanksgiving was wonderful! How was yours?

Today we checked out a hiking trail that was referred to us by a friend. It was beautiful. (Princess looks cold in the next picture, but it was 70 degrees outside. She wasn't really) We are LOVING spending more time outdoors. Gainesville has lots of outdoor activities and we are trying to take advantage of them!

Bridget

Babione 6 + Valdez 4 = Babez 10

2010-11-23T09:47:00.002-06:00

Well, hello world!

Moving is crazy. And this is the longest I've ever gone without updating the ol' blog.

Sorry about that.

We pretty much hit the ground running and have had very little down time since. So where do I begin?

The biggest change for us is probably the fact that we have decided to cohabitate with our friends, the Valdez Family, for longer than at first expected. The house fits us all comfortably, we even hosted a guest last week, and it is financially beneficial for both families that we share the load right now.

My parents have taken to calling our home "the compound".

Funny.

But through this season of putting the Lord's home before our own we are learning so much of Christ and of laying down our own personal interests and desires for the sake of Christ's interests and desires. It's not always easy or enjoyable but we are all in agreement that it is very worth it.

God is filling His creation with Christ. Nothing but what is of Christ will be left in the end so laying down our lives for Christ is really the only choice. He is all in all.

And He is our very great reward. (Gen 15:1 NIV)

Bridget

Swagger Wagon

2010-09-21T08:35:00.003-05:00

This video has been all over the internet. I'll be more surprised if you haven't seen it then if you have.

But since we are now the owners of a new-to-us Toyota Sienna I had to post it.

Big Changes Pt. 2

2010-09-15T08:35:00.001-05:00

Back in this post I told you about our new plans.

What I didn't tell you was that for the last year we had been praying about and planning on moving to Gainesville, FL. You see, after returning home from the conference we knew we had to go somewhere to be a part of an organic church. And we knew that Jesus was inviting us to go to Gainesville.

But there was a catch.

We had no way of getting there. (read: absolutely no money)

So we prayed and waited. And along came New York Life Insurance. The beauty of RC's new career is the ability to do it anywhere in the U.S.. The bummer was that it was gonna take months to get liscensed and trained. But we prayed some more and felt confident moving forward with NYL. And in January 2010 he started.

Throughout this journey we had the companionship of another family. They, like us, had attended the conference and left with the same desire and plans. (no, not everyone that attended the conference left feeling that way. We were actually the only ones.) They, also like us, needed funds and NYL was the ticket for them as well. But they also had another trick in the bag. They owned their home. So in May they listed their house and sold it within a week. Seriously.

And at the end of July they were leaving A-town in a huge moving van headed for Gainesville. And we were still in A-town, absolutely no closer to leaving. It was hard. Honestly, it easily ranks in my top 5 of hardest things ever gone through.

We knew we couldn't stay in A-town alone. We needed others and so we made a few contacts with people in The City. And we started to get excited. What if we could figure out a way to move to The City instead. Surely that was more doable than moving across the country. So we talked to people. My parents, the organic church in The City, RC's parent's, our friends in Gainesville and all of a sudden we were making some changes.

And then God dropped a bomb.

We recieved an anonymous gift specifically for moving to Gainesville. (read: no move, no gift) And we were back on our knees. But we didn't stay there long bc in our minds the gift wasn't enough to actually make the move. We still needed more. So we prayed on the go. You know: kept moving in our direction while occasionally asking God what He wanted. The problem with praying on the go is that we rarely take the time to listen for His answer.

And the weekend we planned to move in with my parents Bobo ended up in the hospital. Well, if we weren't gonna stop to listen I guess God was gonna stop us. But it still seemed impossible.

Then we had an idea. Maybe we could use the gift for an extended vacation in Gainesville. You know, put our stuff in storage and just go hang out with our friends from A-town for a month. And for about three days we liked this idea. But something still wasn't right.

And then the rain from the hurricane landed our way and we were delayed once again in moving in with my parents. And that's when we got real.

Christ made it clear that it was not His will for us to just take an extended vaca. (read: no MOVE, no gift) He is worth more than that and He was asking us to make a commitment. To trust Him and go where He had invited us to go. And as we opened our hearts to Him the puzzle pieces started to fall into place.

Does our plan look like something akin to the 'American Dream'? Not at all. Many people would say we are crazy and taking steps backward. But if you truly believe what our Lord says, then no earthly or temporary thing is worth missing out on Him. We are moving to Gainesville at the end of this month. The things of true value are always worth great cost.

But that is why their value is TRUE.

We are moving in with our A-town friends and RC will start working right away using his non resident FL liscense. And we will go from there...

Bridget

*I in no way mean to imply that Christ is only in Gainesville. We all know that is not true. What I am saying is that moving there is what Christ is asking of US. And I am encouraging you to accept whatever invitation He is offering you. It is worth whatever it costs you. ALWAYS. Because it is always more of HIM. And He is worth more than riches untold.

"and the things of earth grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace."

What We Did This Summer: Zoo Edition Pt. 2

2010-09-14T10:28:00.006-05:00

Our trip to the zoo continued with the birds and the butterflies. Unfortunately, the torrential rains I talked about in the previous post had killed most of the butterflies. =( However, Princess was as excited with a dead one as she would have been with a live one.

This crane was quite friendly.

So after all the birds and butterflies we sunned with the bears...

...and slithered with the snakes... ...and swam with the otters... ...and stretched with the eagles... ...and stalked with the alligators... ...and played hide and seek with Nemo... ...and swam some more with the sea lions... ...and then we climbed with/on the gorillas... ...and rode on a baby rhino. We had a wonderful day at the zoo... ...despite what Bear says. Bridget

What We Did This Summer: Zoo Edition Pt. 1

2010-09-10T08:36:00.010-05:00

The kids and I hit The City Zoo this summer. There was torrential rain and flooding the day before so we weren't sure if it was going to be open. But as luck would have it, not only was it open but the heavy rains the day before kept many guests away and the weather quite a few degrees cooler. It was a fabulous day!

This beautiful peacock was one of the first to greet us. The peacocks at the zoo are able to go wherever they please (except out of the zoo, of course) so they just kinda run, and fly, and land on fences to pose for you.

Then we met the monkeys. They were quite inspiring:

The City Zoo has a fabulous children's zoo in it. That's where we met this guy: The workers handed out little cups of something the birds love to drink and if you hold the cup out the birds will land on you to drink it. Princess was a little unsure so I let the bird land on me. Bear won the staring contest. And, yes, I'm holding the bird on one hand and the camera with the other.

One lady had four birds on her at one time and if you look on the right side of the pic above you can see a girl with a bird on her shoulder. I guestimate there were at least 25 birds in the cage. An all green guy: Then we raced down the slides. And we helped each other climb tree houses. We saw a Mama Peacock and her baby taking a walk. We saw a tortoise shell up close... ...and then saw the real live thing! One of the highlights of the day was seeing this peacock... ...open his tail feathers! It is not only amazing but also very noisy. It's like he has to shake them out to get them to open, but man was it super cool to see! If you look on the right side of the picture below, behind the peacock you can see the female he was showing off for. She loved it and came running! =)
Popeye made friends with a hippo.
And Princess made friends with an elephant skull. Kidding.
This is only half of our zoo adventure. More pics tomorrow!

Bridget

Outtakes from our Photo Shoot

2010-09-08T06:00:00.001-05:00

As you can tell by the new header, we had a little impromptu photo session yesterday evening. I couldn't pass up sharing some others.

Enjoy. (and remember: you can click on the pics to make them bigger.)

Bridget

The Doctor Said

2010-09-07T17:01:00.004-05:00

Had Bobo's post op follow-up with the surgeon today. Doc said it looks good. No swimming though for awhile. Doc said not even when the scab has fallen off and the pink tissue under it is there. It has to be "real skin".

I'm glad to know that real skin is what we are to be expecting.

I'm not too fond of the fake stuff. =)

Bridget

And so it begins...

2010-09-05T10:11:00.002-05:00

Today we begin the process of moving our stuff into storage.

I could act all sarcastic about it and like we aren't looking forward to it at all, but the truth is: we are excited about beginning a new part of the journey. We are ready to be an active part of the Body.

We are ready to lay it all down for the surpassing greatness of knowing our Lord.

Christ is ALL.

Bridget

It's so good to be home again.

2010-08-30T11:15:00.001-05:00

Yep. We're home. Got to come home yesterday afternoon.

It feels GOOD.

Bridget

Not Home Yet

2010-08-28T20:46:00.001-05:00

Surely you can tell by the title that Bobo is not home yet.

The doctor wants to wait till he has the results of the cultures back so that he better knows which antibiotic to send Bobo home on.

Hopefully tomorrow.

Sigh.

Bridget

Yuck and Ouch

2010-08-27T21:47:00.002-05:00

Bobo is still in the hospital. He's doing great, the doctor just hasn't released him yet. The Wound Specialist came today and changed his packing and bandage. It didn't hurt as much as Bobo was scared. He was a champ though. They are gonna let me change it tomorrow while the nurses look on so I can feel more comfortable doing it at home.

Lovely.

I took a picture of the hole in his neck with my phone. If you want to see it then text me and I'll send it to you. =)

We did get to walk around outside today. Bobo really enjoyed getting some fresh air. Though, his daddy bought him a new nintendo game that has kept him quite occupied.

Hopefully he'll be coming home tomorrow.

Bridget

Post Op

2010-08-26T19:03:00.003-05:00

Today went great.

Surgery was delayed because of an emergency surgery and a small town that only has one surgeon on duty today. And that's really not a big deal except Bobo couldn't have anything to eat or drink and we all know how uncomfortable that is. He handled it like a champ, though.

The procedure took about 20 minutes and by 2:00 he was back in his room eating some jell0.

However, now starts the hard part. The surgeon couldn't sew him up because the infection would just refester. So now we must keep the wound packed with antibacterial gauze-like stuff and change it occasionally.

Basically, yuck for mom and ouch for Bobo.

We don't know when he will be released but the longer he stays the less I have to change. So I'm in no hurry. =)

Thank you so much for your prayers and well wishes.

Bridget

*and we've decided to delay moving till next weekend.

Update on Bobo

2010-08-25T19:27:00.003-05:00

Well, things haven't gone as hoped.

Tuesday morning Bobo woke up with the swelling in his neck increasing and discomfort when he swallowed. By 5:30 p.m. he was running a fever of 101.5. So off to the ER we went.

They admitted him. I spent the night at the hospital with him and around 6:00 this morning the surgeon came by. Surgery it is.

It is scheduled for some time tomorrow morning. We are still not sure how long he will have to remain in the hopsital after the procedure.

He is doing fine and is enjoying the attention. He seems to like hospital food and loves getting to read and play on his Nintendo as much as he wants. He has continued to have a low grade fever that spiked this afternoon only to 101.5 again so no biggie. His discomfort level has decreased and other than having to sleep at a thirty degree angle (to keep his neck elevated bc of the swelling) he is happy.

He keeps saying he is ready to be done with this and is therefore ok with the surgery. So are we.

Thanks in advance for your prayers.

Bridget

Consultation Results

2010-08-24T06:00:00.001-05:00

We saw the surgeon yesterday for Bobo's neck.

After having the CT scan last Wednesday and discovering the abscess, our family doctor prescribed a stronger antibiotic. We quit the amoxicillan and started cephalexin on Thursday. Since then Bobo's neck has been returning to its normal size.

The surgeon thinks we should continue with the antibiotic and see if that can take care of this before we do any cutting.

RC and I (and Bobo) agree.

We are very pleased with this and are very hopeful that the antibiotic will take care of the problem. Please join us in praying it does so.

Bridget

Surgery and Packing

2010-08-22T09:26:00.002-05:00

Our oldest, Bobo, has an abscess on the left side of his neck. It is swollen, causes him to hold his head funny, and makes his neck look all wonky.

He brought it to my attention last Friday while we were in Chicken Town. My mother and I went ahead and took him to the Quick Care Clinic so we could start an antibiotic because at that point it appeared to be just a very swollen lymph node. The PA that saw him did some blood work, gave a script for some amoxicillan, and told us to make sure and have it seen if it's not gone by Monday.

By Monday it was not gone, but actually bigger and more sore. So we scheduled an appointment for Tuesday. At the appointment on Tuesday we scheduled a CT scan for Wednesday. And by Wednesday afternoon we were scheduling a consultation with the surgeon for Monday. So by Monday afternoon we will know when the surgery will be.

Yuck.

In other news: I have discovered that I haven't been blogging much lately bc I have no desire to download pictures at all right now. It is so very time consuming. And I guess I had somehow flipped a switch in my brain that made me think I needed pictures with most posts. Well, that switch has been flipped yet again. I will now be updating with fewer pictures until I am once again in the mood to spend four hours of my life downloading pictures.

You are just gonna have to use your imagination, people.

And now we have come to the point in our journey when I must begin packing up my house. We are moving to Chicken Town next weekend. Wish me luck.

Bridget

Big Changes

2010-08-10T08:11:00.004-05:00

Last August RC and I went to a conference in Houston, TX. It was a small conference. About 150-200 people. But it was the most amazing thing we had experienced up to that point in our lives. The SOLE focus of the conference was JESUS CHRIST.

HE was the revelation we received that weekend.

And though things had been stirring in us leading up to this point, at this conference our hearts were captured in a way they had never been. And they were captured by a PERSON. Not a vision. Not a mindset. Not a model for things. But by a glorious, beautiful, amazing, marvelous, brilliant PERSON.

JESUS CHRIST.

Suffice it to say, this past year has been pretty crazy. I know I haven't really shared any of it on this blog but that's because I don't yet feel able to. The words just won't come out of my head. It's possible we need to progress farther in this journey before we will fully understand everything. (If that's even possible.) But here is what I can tell you:

At the end of this month we are moving in with my parents in Chicken Town. Chicken Town is only 30 minutes away from The City where we found, just this past weekend, a group of people who have also been enraptured by our glorious JESUS CHRIST and desire, like us, to gather together under His headship. We hope to be able to move to The City within the next 3-6 months.

People think it's odd that we would move (particularly odd that we would be willing to move in with family) for 'church'. That's not one of the things that people move for unless it's some kind of cult or they're crazy or something. No, people move for much grander things than the Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ, the Family of God, the House of God - like jobs - or earthly families - or beaches - or mountains.

It's not wrong to move for those things. Part of our decision to move to the The City instead of some other city where there are people gathering under the headship of Christ has to do with RC's career. But if RC's career was the main motivation, the deciding factor, then we would just stay right here in A-town. But it's not.

The Eternal Purpose of God encompassed in Jesus Christ in the earth today is our motivation.

And we are so unbelievably excited to begin this part of the journey.

Bridget

F. Dostoevsky

2010-07-21T13:11:00.002-05:00

“If someone succeeded in proving to me that Christ was outside the truth, and if, in reality, the truth was outside Christ, then I should prefer to remain with Christ than with the truth.”

Starring Bear

2010-07-02T14:40:00.001-05:00

Prairie Dogs

2010-07-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

On our way home from Branson we decided to go through the wildlife refuge again. We were in no hurry and we knew of a place that usually had bufalo and always had prairie dogs that we decided to stop at.

When we got out of the car the prairie dogs decided to welcome us. Notice the dog at Princess' feet. Yep, it came right up to her. Then it sniffed her toes.

It was crazy! This dog had no fear.

I guess she passed inspection. Then the dog decided to inspect Popeye. So I got the brilliant idea of getting a few graham crackers out of the car to share with our new friends. Now, I know some of you are gonna say that it isn't good to feed wild animals people food. And you would be right, but our new friend was so polite that I just couldn't help myself. So, Bobo ran to the van and came back with some crackers for everyone. And then he made a friend. See? Crackers are the universal lanuguage of friends.Once we started sharing our crackers we started making lots of friends. Popeye made a friend. The kids loved how the dogs held the crackers in their hands, err, paws. Bear made a friend. And then we saw the babies. Oh, prairie dog babies, you are so precious.

We shared our crackers with them also, though we had to throw the crackers to them because they wouldn't come very close.

But, Mama prairie dog didn't like that because she immediately came over and took the crackers away.

Oops. Sorry, Mama prairie dog. Then Bear made another friend. A different Mama prairie dog. Who felt comfortable enough with her new friend to take the cracker out of his hand rather than having it thrown to her. Then sit right next to him while she ate it. While her friends looked on. Princess and Popeye tried to make friends with them. They were successful. I think it liked Princess' pink dress. And her hair. And her smell. It just liked her. So do I. We really enjoyed meeting and sharing crackers with our new friends.

Babione 6

Branson Vacation Day 3

2010-06-27T18:55:00.009-05:00

Day three in Branson started with getting our family pics taken.
And, no, these aren't them.

These are pics of us sitting around waiting to get our family pictures taken. I was bored. Big Cedar is absolutely beautiful. This is a pic of the gift shop. I don't remember what restaurant this belonged to, but it was beautiful. After our session was done I snapped some pics of the kids. And then I remembered I hadn't shown you our new sunglasses yet. I mentioned to husband that he looked like Top Gun in those shades and Bear heard. He decided he wanted to be 'Top Gun's Son".

He has no clue who Top Gun is. =) Another fabulous building. I love this style of architecture. Top Gun.

Or Hot Stuff.

Both work. Princess was not in the best mood. Then it was time for K.K. to head back to Kamp. Good-bye, K.K.. We love you! After pics we went back to the condo and I felt compelled to take a picture of the little fish that had our room numbers on it.

Hello, little fish. We ate lunch at a restaurant that serves fabulous hamburgers. And Bear enjoyed a stare. And I snapped more pictures while we waited for our food.

Surprise, surprise. Hello, goofball. If I'm all stealthy and take his picture when he isn't aware than he doesn't stick his tongue out at me.

Though, I'm not sure how stealthy I really was seeing as how I was sitting right next to him.

Apparently, it has nothing to do with my stealthiness and everything to do with whether or not he has something more pressing on his mind at the time.

And I thought it was all about me. Goodness, she is such a cutie.The Babione 6 girls and Mr. Goofball. Now you all can see where my children get it. Bobo tried on my sunglasses. Notice his glasses on top of them. =) We tried riding the horse but all it did was eat our quarters and then just sit there.

After lunch we headed to the movie theater. The three women and the four children went to see Shrek 4...

...in 3D!!! While the two men went to see Iron Man 2.

Then we cooked dinner at the condo and tried to swim, though a thunderstorm rolled in just as we got to the pool so we literally got in and then got right back out again. This did not go over well with Princess.

So the kids 'swam' in Tamtam and Grandpa's jacuzzi tub instead. It was a wonderful vacation! Thank you, mom and dad, for inviting us!

We loved it!

And we love you!

Babione6

Basketball practice

2010-06-10T11:47:00.007-05:00

Yesterday Bear was playing basketball. He made some long shots.And made some misses.
He also ran to the goal and threw it in.He missed a few shots.He wanted to go outside.
He ran to the ball wen he missed it.I think I know why he wanted to play basketball.
The kids got a new netflix movie called Space Jam.It has basketball,and Michael Jordan to.

Bear

Branson Vacation Day 2

2010-06-08T06:00:00.003-05:00

Tuesday morning we woke up, ate breakfast, and headed to the pool again. Did I mention that swimming was the most looked forward to activity of the Babione children?

Well, it was.

After spending our morning swimming we ate some pizza for lunch. The kiddos ate on the balcony. Then everyone took showers and got all gussied up because we were scheduled to have family pictures taken that afternoon. However, a thunderstorm rolled in so our pictures got rescheduled. We had to find something to fill our time. So the girls took pictures of themselves.

Surprise, surprise.(This is only one of MANY, but I don't want to bore you with tons of silly pictures of us. And, yes, we are standing in front of the bathroom mirror and I'm holding the camera out to the side and hoping for the best.)

Then AJ swiped my camera and had some fun herself.

Silly girl. But don't her nails look fabulous?

Then we watched some t.v. with Dad, but that wasn't really holding our attention so we decided to take some more pictures.

Imagine that. Yes, those are my toes and AJ's toes. Seriously, there are only so many pictures you can take of your smiling mug. And as a side note, I used to be terribly self conscious about my toes. I wouldn't wear open-toed sandals for anything. My uncle made fun of how long they were once and I was convinced that everyone thought my toes were ridiculous.

However, I'm over that now. As proven by my ability to post a picture of my toes on the WORLD WIDE WEB.

WORLD WIDE, people.

Anywho. We grew tired of that so I started taking pictures of other people. Starting with my Dad. And that's what he thought of me taking his picture. I love you, too, Dad. Then I bothered Husband in our room which had a sleeper sofa (along with a kind sized bed and small kitchenette ) and it's own t.v. And, believe it or not, all the other pictures I took of us two were actually worse than this one.

Yes, it's possible. Even with my fancy camera.

The two little ones were hanging out on the balcony with KK watching the clouds. My lands this one is cute. There was a balcony off the living room and off our bedroom. There was a divider between the two that you could fit around if you squeezed. The kids loved going back and forth. Apparently, I said something hilarious. I'm sure it was me who said it and not someone else because everyone tells me I'm the funny one in the family.

Everyone. Even in Branson we pull out the 'Go Pokes!' It really is universal! My beautiful mother. I love you, mom!

When it was time, we headed to Fudrucker's for dinner. And I bet you can never guess what we did while we waited for our food.

Can't guess?

I knew you wouldn't figure it out.

We took more pictures, of course!!!

See, I knew you would know it once I told you. But then a terrible thing happened. My sister, KK, (the blonde one above) stole my camera and started snapping away.

It is one thing to have to see your face when you are sitting up straight, sucking in, have brushed down your hair, and are smiling pretty. But did she allow me to do all those things?

No! Of course not. Because she is mean and hateful and doesn't love me. And this is what I see when I download my pictures from my camera. Heaven's people!!! Is this what I really look like?

Bless my husband's heart!

And anyone else who has to sit through one of my stories! Oh dear...

It's the ugly laugh.

I'm so very sorry, world. Really, I am!

OK, I've come up with a solution...whenever I am so inclined to tell a story I will forewarn everyone and therefore you all can either close your eyes or look away.

Whew. Problem solved. Now see, this is what I'm talking about. Hair in place, sucking gut in, sticking lower jaw out just enough to not be noticeable, but enough to lessen double chin and smiling.

I should have my facial muscles glued in this position. As we were leaving I snapped this pic of KK. Unfortunately, even when she looks goofy she's cute so I will never ever be able to get her back. Argh. And Husband wants everyone to know that he is reserved for to go orders.

I have no idea what that means.

After Fudrucker's we headed to the outlet mall. Every year my dad buys my mom some new running shoes.

And while they were in the Reebok store Husband, Princess, and Popeye and I went looking for some sunglasses. And we found some.

Then we were off to the main attraction of the night. The Haygood's Show. Husband was very excited. Mom counted the tickets. (She's a math teacher. It's what they do.)

And I kept snapping away. Popeye decided to sit on my lap for most of the show. After the show, we purchased the DVD of the show and waited for the Haygoods to come out to the lobby to sign the case. The two biggest brothers didn't sign autographs in the line, but the other six did. Princess didn't want to shake any hands, but she was happy. It was another wonderful day of vacation.

This last picture is of our lodge sign when we got home from the show. Not really necessary, but I thought it was cool. Bridget

Branson Vacation Day 1

2010-06-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in my last post, we went on vacation to Branson, MO with my parents and my sisters. This is the third year in a row we have done this. It is quite the treat!!! We arrived in Chicken Town Sunday evening and spent the night. Then Monday morning we all got around and headed to Branson. Luckily, it's only a 6 hour drive.

When we got there we inspected our condo. It was fabulous, as was the view from the balcony...

...but unfortunately housekeeping hadn't made it by yet. So we decided to go for a walk while they cleaned.

When you're moving in a group of 9, things happen a bit more slowly than usual. So we waited for our whole crew to assemble.

And off we went! We decided to head down to the club house and check out the pools. Seeing as how swimming was the single most looked forward to activity of the Babione children. I guess I should tell you that we stayed at Big Cedar Lodge on Table Rock Lake. It is absolutely gorgeous. They have a Lazy River. The kids were ready to jump in with their clothes on! We waited for Grandpa to take care of some things. And Aunt AJ helped keep little ones entertained. Then she gave Popeye a piggy back ride on our way back to the condo. So Daddy gave Princess one. We literally went back, put on our swimsuits and headed right back to the club house again. I didn't take my camera to the pool once, though. So no swimming pics. =( We spent the evening swimming while TamTam and Grandpa went to the grocery store. They came home with lots of good things to eat, including hamburgers and hotdogs for dinner. Grandpa cooked them on the grill. (Big Cedar has outdoor grills for guests to use)

Then we went to bed happy. It was a wonderful first day of our vacation!

Bridget

Slap a Buffalo

2010-06-02T06:00:00.001-05:00

Last Weekend, after our garage sale, we headed to Chicken Town because we were going on vacation to Branson, MO with my parents. Between A-Town and Chicken Town is a Wildlife Refuge. When we aren't under a time crunch we like to drive through it because it is very beautiful and you just might see some wildlife. Imagine that.

About half way through we spotted this guy all by his lonesome. He was very friendly and didn't mind at all that I was taking his picture.

This photo gives you a better idea of how far he was from us. I would estimate about 20 feet or so.

As we drove on we came upon a herd. Now, this wasn't our first time to make friends with a herd of buffalo. And since we know their friends I figured they wouldn't mind us taking their picture either.

And, of course, they didn't. But while I was snapping pictures of friends of our friends, Husband started yelling at me.

I didn't like it.

So to shut him up I looked at what he was freaking out about and, lo and behold...

...I started freaking out to.

Yes, people, that's a buffalo headed straight for that suv.

Now, the people in the suv aren't stupid. They've started inching their way forward out of the path of the buffalo.

And then it all started to become clear. The buffalo has no desire to lick the people in the suv. (cause, you know, buffalos LOVE licking people in suvs.)

He just needed some help...

...from the speed limit sign...

...to reach that spot...

...right behind his shoulder...

...that wouldn't stop itching.

Ahhhh. That's the spot.

But now his friends in the suv are leaving.

Sad.

And he didn't even get to lick them. =(

When we told our friend, Tobias, about being super duper ridiculously close to a buffalo, he said...

Hehe. Should've slapped him.

Right.

Because that's what everyone does when they get close to a huge, wild animal.

SLAP!

Bridget

Garage Sale and a Business Lesson

2010-06-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

We had a garage sale a week ago. My friend, Quotesy, and I decided to teach our children a little business lesson while we were at it.

All of our children come to us every now and then with money-making ideas. The problem with their ideas is that they always involve some sort of up front costs. And the problem with that is that our children are clueless about this and think that things just drop out of the sky.

So we, in our parenting wisdom, offered to let our children have a drink stand at said garage sale. They, of course, agreed immediately.

We then told them that they would have to purchase all needed items, including ice and posterboard, themselves. They, still, agreed immediately.

Each child ended up contributing a little over six dollars. Luckily, they made enough for each child to recoup six dollars. We were not at all worried about this. The lesson we wanted to teach wasn't how to make lots of money. We wanted our children to start to understand that it's not easy to make money. Many times we put in alot of effort and receive little in return.

And that's ok.

They also learned about buying something and selling it for a profit, advertising, working harder when things aren't going smoothly (they actually took the drinks door to door after the garage sale) and how hard Dad must work to provide for us.

We were pleased with their effort.

And their willingness to learn.

Bridget

Flying on a Jet Plane (or something like that)

2010-05-14T15:36:00.003-05:00

So, last weekend, Husband and I took a little vaca with some friends to go visit some more friends. It was fabulous and wonderful and glorious. (Husband with our friends. I was actually across the isle with a total stranger. Luckily, she was small and slept the whole way.)

I haven't been on a plane in 10 yrs.

I was a little nervous.

But all is well and I am now home with my crazies. (Bear is watching me type this. I first typed 'babies' instead of 'crazies' but he said that 'babies' embarrased him. 'Crazies' was much better.)

Bridget

On the Road Again

2010-05-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

In honor of my husband and my friend, Quotesy, you really should sing the title of this song in your best Willy Nelson voice.

Seriously.

And the reason I chose that song for the title of this post is because, as you are reading this, Husband and I are traveling home from a weekend away.

I will fill you in on it when I am home.

And rested.

Which, honestly, might not be until next year sometime.

=)

Bridget

Rematch

2010-05-07T13:00:00.001-05:00

Notice all the skip-bos in the last photo. We had those in our deck, not our hand! (If you know anything about skip-bo then that will make sense. If not, sorry.)

Wives lead 11 games to 6 games!

WOO-HOO!

Bridget

Girl in Green

2010-05-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

Sometimes she's in the mood for my camera... ...so I snap away!

Bridget

Stinker

2010-05-06T13:00:00.000-05:00

Enough said.

Bridget

Stick 'Em Up

2010-05-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

Bridget

Our New Favorite Pasttime.

2010-05-05T13:00:00.001-05:00

We play husbands against wives and we can't get enough!

Bridget

Our New Security Systems

2010-05-05T08:00:00.001-05:00

After they took them down, the two little ones cut all the yarn into small pieces.

And, yes, I was being the very attentive mom who knew nothing of the matter until tiny pieces of yarn were scattered all over my house.

Brilliant

Bridget

12 Years!

2010-05-04T13:00:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile since I posted a pic of Hubs and me. This one was taken on our anniversary in March.

Bridget

Daddy's Girl

2010-05-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

There is this little girl I know who adores her daddy.

And there is this daddy I know who adores his little girl.

Bridget

Something About My Man in a Baseball Hat.

2010-05-03T13:00:00.000-05:00

Don't let some of these picturs fool you. Though my man may look like he is tired of me sticking my camera in his face, He is not. My man loves having his picture taken!

And I love taking it!

Bridget

Mud Island

2010-05-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

I think the title is pretty self explanatory.

But I must say, they did a pretty good job of staying as clean as possible. (Per mother's orders.)

Bridget

Strap a Brick to His Head.

2010-04-30T13:00:00.000-05:00

He's just getting so big!!!

Bridget

Milli and Friends

2010-04-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

More evidence that our cat thinks she's a stuffed animal.

Bridget

Brain Power

2010-04-29T13:00:00.000-05:00

Doing school work at TamTam's one morning Bear discovered he had special powers!

His brain is so powerful it attracts objects like a magnet!

Or...the eraser got stuck in his hair.

I'm sure it's the first one.

Bridget

My Man...

2010-04-29T08:00:00.001-05:00

...is hot stuff!

Bridget

Little Blue Riding Hood

2010-04-28T13:00:00.000-05:00

What do you do if you child looks super cute and you want to take her picture, but she isn't in the mood?

You strap her down, of course!

And then you snap away. But she is smart. She might not be able to run... ...but she can hide that beautiful smile. Until you mention desert. Seriously, especially if the strap down happens when you are on your way to dinner. All you have to mention is desert. Well, hello smile!

Bridget

Can you find the real animal?

2010-04-28T08:39:00.000-05:00

Bridget

Spring Break

2010-04-27T08:27:00.000-05:00

We took it easy over spring break. On Tuesday we went to the lake with some friends. We took a picnic and did a lot of hiking. The weather was beautiful and the kids (and Mamas) were thrilled to be outside. Unfortunately, Popeye was running a fever before the day was over and by Wednesday we had three sickuns at our house.

And that's how we spent the rest of our spring break. But I doubt you want to see pictures of that so I'll just show you pics of our day at the lake. Bridget

Storm Ahead

2010-04-26T06:00:00.001-05:00

Pulled over to the side of the road to take this shot.

Couldn't pass it up.

Enjoy my stab at artistic photography.

Bridget

Smith Girls Slumber Party

2010-04-23T09:45:00.031-05:00

My mom is the youngest of three daughters. They are the Smith girls. We had a Smith girls slumber party last month. Abby (the oldest) bought everyone matching pjs. Then we did facials and pedicures and played games. It was a blast!

Kara was doing cheer stuff and only made it in time for the games. And this little beauty slept most of the time. We've decided that the Smith girls slumber party has to become a yearly tradition. Can't wait till next year!

Bridget

Kara Bear

2010-04-20T06:00:00.001-05:00

As in Care Bear. That's our nickname for my youngest sister.

And K.K.. That's my kids nickname for my youngest sister.

She's fabulous. She stole my camera while we were driving to the Princess Party and took these pictures of herself.

And I'm so glad she did.

This isn't the first time she's pulled this stunt. But it is the first time I've actually posted the pictures on the WORLD WIDE WEB. Kara Bear, I just couldn't keep you to myself any longer. I had to share you with the rest of the world. I knew you wouldn't mind.

I love you, sister.

Bridge

Eggs

2010-04-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

We were hanging out at the creek behind the college in Chicken Town (where the new header pic was taken) and found this nest full of eggs.

The kids were fascinated.

So was I.

I made sure no one touched any.

Bear got the closest. After we left the area, Mama Duck came back. She pretended like I didn't exist.

But I didn't blame her. I'm pretty protective of my babies too. Then we found another nest. Not sure if it was abandoned. There was only one egg in it and we never saw any ducks go near it.

Hmmm.

Bridget

Theta Princess Party

2010-04-18T22:41:00.009-05:00

Back in March, Princess was invited to a Princess Party.

How very appropriate.

Kara is a Theta and her house was having a Princess Party. They invited all the lovely little princess' in their lives. Kara invited Princess, of course.

Mom and I dropped them off at the Theta house and we went shopping and to eat. Mom bought me three pairs of jeans for my birthday.

When we returned to the house to pick them up we got to go inside and see everything.

Princess was over the moon. The house was teeming with little princess everywhere! they could go most anywhere in the house they wanted and they did!

Princess' hair was straightened, her nails were painted, and her face was make-upped.

So sweet.

Checking herself out.

She had a great time with K.K.. (my children's name for their Aunt Kara)

And I had a great time with Mom.

Bridget

I can't remember where I read this statement so as to give proper credit, but it's too good not to share anyway.

2010-04-17T17:35:00.003-05:00

The christian life is not the imitation of the life of Christ - it's the participation in the life of Christ.

*updated on 4-19-2010 - Husband helped me to remember. I actually heard this statement on a CD of talks that we listen to. It was said by Alan. Once I find out his last name I'll let you know.

=)

Bridget

Losing

2010-04-12T13:41:00.008-05:00

A fun movie to watch is A Knight's Tale. We own it and the other night while watching I had to stop it and write down a certain dialogue in it. To set it up: William (a peasant) is posing as a knight and traveling around to jousting competitions. Jocelyn is a rich man's daughter that also travels around to these competitions (no idea why). William and Jocelyn have seen each other and flirted and danced and whathaveyou. Upon entering a new town and therefore a new competition this is their exchange inside a church building:

William: Jocelyn, how may I prove my love to you?

How?

Jocelyn: Do you ask in earnest?

William: Yes.

Jocelyn: If you would prove your love you should do your worst.

William: My worst?

What do you mean?

Jocelyn: Instead of winning to honor me with YOUR high reputation, I want you to act AGAINST your normal character and do badly.

Lose.

William: Losing proves nothing except that I'm a loser.

Jocelyn: WRONG. Losing is a much keener test of your love.

Losing would contradict your self-love and losing would show your obedience to your lover and not yourself.

William: (thinking, reeling, not happy)

Jocelyn: What is your answer?

William: (deciding)

I. will. not. lose.

Jocelyn: Then you do not love me.

He who has found his life shall lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake shall find it. -Jesus Christ (Matt. 10:39)

For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it. -Jesus Christ (Matt 16:25)

Jesus wasn't just speaking of dying. He was speaking of laying down our own personal dreams, goals, desires, and seeking after God's dreams, goals, desires. God's eternal purpose.

If you would like to know more about God's eternal purpose than I highly recommend the book From Eternity to Here.

And just in case you think you have God's eternal purpose figured out (I know I once did) let me say that, no, it's not JUST saving lost souls or fellowshipping with us or having us worship Him.

It's MUCH grander than that!

And it's for Himself.

Praise God!

Bridget

That Darn Good Weather

2010-04-01T10:51:00.003-05:00

Bobo and I are sitting in our 'classroom' right now doing school work. I had to pause to blow my nose and the following conversation happened:

Bobo: "Are your allergies bothering you?"

Me: "Yes."

Bobo: "Because this room is dusty?"

Me: "No, it's the weather."

Bobo: "You're allergic to good weather?"

Me: "Yes, Bobo, I'm allergic to good weather."

=)

Bridget

A Jesus Manifesto

2010-03-04T06:00:00.000-06:00

The following are not my words but they are very much my heart.

A Magna Carta
for Restoring the Supremacy of
Jesus Christ
a.k.a.
A Jesus Manifesto
for the 21st Century Church
by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola

Christians have made the gospel about so many things … things other than Christ.

Jesus Christ is the gravitational pull that brings everything together and gives them significance, reality, and meaning. Without him, all things lose their value. Without him, all things are but detached pieces floating around in space.

It is possible to emphasize a spiritual truth, value, virtue, or gift, yet miss Christ . . . who is the embodiment and incarnation of all spiritual truth, values, virtues, and gifts.

Seek a truth, a value, a virtue, or a spiritual gift, and you have obtained something dead.
Seek Christ, embrace Christ, know Christ, and you have touched him who is Life. And in him resides all Truth, Values, Virtues and Gifts in living color. Beauty has its meaning in the beauty of Christ, in whom is found all that makes us lovely and loveable.

What is Christianity? It is Christ. Nothing more. Nothing less. Christianity is not an ideology. Christianity is not a philosophy. Christianity is the “good news” that Beauty, Truth and Goodness are found in a person. Biblical community is founded and found on the connection to that person. Conversion is more than a change in direction; it’s a change in connection. Jesus’ use of the ancient Hebrew word shubh, or its Aramaic equivalent, to call for “repentance” implies not viewing God from a distance, but entering into a relationship where God is command central of the human connection.

In that regard, we feel a massive disconnection in the church today. Thus this manifesto.
We believe that the major disease of the church today is JDD: Jesus Deficit Disorder. The person of Jesus is increasingly politically incorrect, and is being replaced by the language of “justice,” “the kingdom of God,” “values,” and “leadership principles.”

In this hour, the testimony that we feel God has called us to bear centers on the primacy of the Lord Jesus Christ. Specifically . . .

1. The center and circumference of the Christian life is none other than the person of Christ. All other things, including things related to him and about him, are eclipsed by the sight of his peerless worth. Knowing Christ is Eternal Life. And knowing him profoundly, deeply, and in reality, as well as experiencing his unsearchable riches, is the chief pursuit of our lives, as it was for the first Christians. God is not so much about fixing things that have gone wrong in our lives as finding us in our brokenness and giving us Christ.

2. Jesus Christ cannot be separated from his teachings. Aristotle says to his disciples, “Follow my teachings.” Socrates says to his disciples, “Follow my teachings.” Buddha says to his disciples, “Follow my meditations.” Confucius says to his disciples, “Follow my sayings.” Muhammad says to his disciples, “Follow my noble pillars.” Jesus says to his disciples, “Follow me.” In all other religions, a follower can follow the teachings of its founder without having a relationship with that founder. Not so with Jesus Christ. The teachings of Jesus cannot be separated from Jesus himself. Jesus Christ is still alive and he embodies his teachings. It is a profound mistake, therefore, to treat Christ as simply the founder of a set of moral, ethical, or social teaching. The Lord Jesus and his teaching are one. The Medium and the Message are One. Christ is the incarnation of the Kingdom of God and the Sermon on the Mount.

3. God’s grand mission and eternal purpose in the earth and in heaven centers in Christ . . . both the individual Christ (the Head) and the corporate Christ (the Body). This universe is moving towards one final goal – the fullness of Christ where He shall fill all things with himself. To be truly missional, then, means constructing one’s life and ministry on Christ. He is both the heart and bloodstream of God’s plan. To miss this is to miss the plot; indeed, it is to miss everything.

4. Being a follower of Jesus does not involve imitation so much as it does implantation and impartation. Incarnation–the notion that God connects to us in baby form and human touch—is the most shocking doctrine of the Christian religion. The incarnation is both once-and-for-all and ongoing, as the One “who was and is to come” now is and lives his resurrection life in and through us. Incarnation doesn’t just apply to Jesus; it applies to every one of us. Of course, not in the same sacramental way. But close. We have been given God’s “Spirit” which makes Christ “real” in our lives. We have been made, as Peter puts it, “partakers of the divine nature.” How, then, in the face of so great a truth can we ask for toys and trinkets? How can we lust after lesser gifts and itch for religious and spiritual thingys? We’ve been touched from on high by the fires of the Almighty and given divine life. A life that has passed through death – the very resurrection life of the Son of God himself. How can we not be fired up?

To put it in a question: What was the engine, or the accelerator, of the Lord’s amazing life? What was the taproot or the headwaters of his outward behavior? It was this: Jesus lived by an indwelling Father. After his resurrection, the passage has now moved. What God the Father was to Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ is to you and to me. He’s our indwelling Presence, and we share in the life of Jesus’ own relationship with the Father. There is a vast ocean of difference between trying to compel Christians to imitate Jesus and learning how to impart an implanted Christ. The former only ends up in failure and frustration. The latter is the gateway to life and joy in our daying and our dying. We stand with Paul: “Christ lives in me.” Our life is Christ. In him do we live, breathe, and have our being. “What would Jesus do?” is not Christianity. Christianity asks: “What is Christ doing through me … through us? And how is Jesus doing it?” Following Jesus means “trust and obey” (respond), and living by his indwelling life through the power of the Spirit.

5. The “Jesus of history” cannot be disconnected from the “Christ of faith.” The Jesus who walked the shores of Galilee is the same person who indwells the church today. There is no disconnect between the Jesus of Mark’s Gospel and the incredible, all-inclusive, cosmic Christ of Paul’s letter to the Colossians. The Christ who lived in the first century has a pre-existence before time. He also has a post-existence after time. He is Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End, A and Z, all at the same time. He stands in the future and at the end of time at the same moment that He indwells every child of God. Failure to embrace these paradoxical truths has created monumental problems and has diminished the greatness of Christ in the eyes of God’s people.

6. It’s possible to confuse “the cause” of Christ with the person of Christ. When the early church said “Jesus is Lord,” they did not mean “Jesus is my core value.” Jesus isn’t a cause; he is a real and living person who can be known, loved, experienced, enthroned and embodied. Focusing on his cause or mission doesn’t equate focusing on or following him. It’s all too possible to serve “the god” of serving Jesus as opposed to serving him out of an enraptured heart that’s been captivated by his irresistible beauty and unfathomable love. Jesus led us to think of God differently, as relationship, as the God of all relationship.

7. Jesus Christ was not a social activist nor a moral philosopher. To pitch him that way is to drain his glory and dilute his excellence. Justice apart from Christ is a dead thing. The only battering ram that can storm the gates of hell is not the cry of Justice, but the name of Jesus. Jesus Christ is the embodiment of Justice, Peace, Holiness, Righteousness. He is the sum of all spiritual things, the “strange attractor” of the cosmos. When Jesus becomes an abstraction, faith loses its reproductive power. Jesus did not come to make bad people good. He came to make dead people live.

8. It is possible to confuse an academic knowledge or theology about Jesus with a personal knowledge of the living Christ himself. These two stand as far apart as do the hundred thousand million galaxies. The fullness of Christ can never be accessed through the frontal lobe alone. Christian faith claims to be rational, but also to reach out to touch ultimate mysteries. The cure for a big head is a big heart.
Jesus does not leave his disciples with CliffsNotes for a systematic theology. He leaves his disciples with breath and body.
Jesus does not leave his disciples with a coherent and clear belief system by which to love God and others. Jesus gives his disciples wounds to touch and hands to heal.
Jesus does not leave his disciples with intellectual belief or a “Christian worldview.” He leaves his disciples with a relational faith.
Christians don’t follow a book. Christians follow a person, and this library of divinely inspired books we call “The Holy Bible” best help us follow that person. The Written Word is a map that leads us to The Living Word. Or as Jesus himself put it, “All Scripture testifies of me.” The Bible is not the destination; it’s a compass that points to Christ, heaven’s North Star.
The Bible does not offer a plan or a blueprint for living. The “good news” was not a new set of laws, or a new set of ethical injunctions, or a new and better PLAN. The “good news” was the story of a person’s life, as reflected in The Apostle’s Creed. The Mystery of Faith proclaims this narrative: “Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again.” The meaning of Christianity does not come from allegiance to complex theological doctrines, but a passionate love for a way of living in the world that revolves around following Jesus, who taught that love is what makes life a success . . . not wealth or health or anything else: but love. And God is love.

9. Only Jesus can transfix and then transfigure the void at the heart of the church. Jesus Christ cannot be separated from his church. While Jesus is distinct from his Bride, he is not separate from her. She is in fact his very own Body in the earth. God has chosen to vest all of power, authority, and life in the living Christ. And God in Christ is only known fully in and through his church. (As Paul said, “The manifold wisdom of God – which is Christ – is known through the ekklesia.”)
The Christian life, therefore, is not an individual pursuit. It’s a corporate journey. Knowing Christ and making him known is not an individual prospect. Those who insist on flying life solo will be brought to earth, with a crash. Thus Christ and his church are intimately joined and connected. What God has joined together, let no person put asunder. We were made for life with God; our only happiness is found in life with God. And God’s own pleasure and delight is found therein as well.

10. In a world which sings, “Oh, who is this Jesus?” and a church which sings, “Oh, let’s all be like Jesus,” who will sing with lungs of leather, “Oh, how we love Jesus!”
If Jesus could rise from the dead, we can at least rise from our bed, get off our couches and pews, and respond to the Lord’s resurrection life within us, joining Jesus in what he’s up to in the world. We call on others to join us—not in removing ourselves from planet Earth, but to plant our feet more firmly on the Earth while our spirits soar in the heavens of God’s pleasure and purpose. We are not of this world, but we live in this world for the Lord’s rights and interests. We, collectively, as the ekklesia of God, are Christ in and to this world.

May God have a people on this earth who are a people of Christ, through Christ, and for Christ. A people of the cross. A people who are consumed with God’s eternal passion, which is to make his Son preeminent, supreme, and the head over all things visible and invisible. A people who have discovered the touch of the Almighty in the face of his glorious Son. A people who wish to know only Christ and him crucified, and to let everything else fall by the wayside. A people who are laying hold of his depths, discovering his riches, touching his life, and receiving his love, and making HIM in all of his unfathomable glory known to others.

The two of us may disagree about many things—be they ecclesiology, eschatology, soteriology, not to mention economics, globalism and politics.
But in our two most recent books—From Eternity to Here and So Beautiful—we have sounded forth a united trumpet. These books are the Manifests to this Manifesto. They each present the vision that has captured our hearts and that we wish to impart to the Body of Christ— “This ONE THING I know” (Jn.9:25) that is the ONE THING that unites us all:
Jesus the Christ.

Christians don’t follow Christianity; Christians follow Christ.
Christians don’t preach themselves; Christians proclaim Christ.
Christians don’t point people to core values; Christians point people to the cross.
Christians don’t preach about Christ: Christians preach Christ.

Over 300 years ago a German pastor wrote a hymn that built around the Name above all names:
Ask ye what great thing I know, that delights and stirs me so? What the high reward I win? Whose the name I glory in?
Jesus Christ, the crucified.
This is that great thing I know; this delights and stirs me so: faith in him who died to save, His who triumphed o’er the grave:
Jesus Christ, the crucified.
—
Jesus Christ – the crucified, resurrected, enthroned, triumphant, living Lord.
He is our Pursuit, our Passion, and our Life.
Amen.

Striking Gold on Valentine's Day

2010-03-02T06:00:00.001-06:00

This year for Valentine's Day Husband and I got to have a little weekend getaway. Hubs had a company party in The City on Saturday night so we left the crazies with the rents in Chicken Town and booked a hotel.

We stayed at The Colcord in the heart of downtown and within walking distance to our party. But we didn't have a weekend of leisure in our sights. No sir-ee. We had plans. Lots of them.

And they started with getting to the hotel as close to check-in time as possible and taking a nap.

Not kidding. But that was because we knew that Sunday was gonna be busy and we needed to be rested up. And because I love naps.

And the whole loving naps thing isn't something I grew into upon becoming an adult or mother. Nope. The story goes that when I was little I would actually ask if I could take a nap. I was brilliant even then.

But back on point. I was on the hunt for some transition tops. You know, the kind that can work layered in winter and alone in spring. But I had a few guidelines they must pass. Like: not form fitting. They could skim the body but not hug it. Also: nicer than t-shirts. Must be able to dress down with jeans and up with slacks. And finally: must be cheap.

I started out at Banana Republic. Love that store. I always head for the sale rack first. Cute stuff, but none cheap enough or exactly what I was looking for.

Then I headed to Ann Taylor. When we lived in Montgomery, TX the mall had an Ann Taylor Loft which was much less expensive. But my only options on this day was good ole Ann Taylor. I was not expecting much.

But surprise-surprise! I hit the jackpot! Not only did they have a HUGE clearance rack (the only thing I even looked at) but EVERYTHING in the store was an extra 30% off! I didn't realize this till I was at checkout because I assumed that they surely wouldn't take an extra 30% off their clearance stuff. You know what assuming does, right? Well, nothing really in this instance other than delaying my sheer excitement when I realized I was going to be practically stealing these tops!

I tried on 13 different tops and settled on five. I'm only showing you the three that were the biggest steal because it takes a long time to put photos on the blog and I'm lazy.
This top is so cute. It's a creamy white with slightly pink undertones.

And I got 30% off the $29.88!!!

If you don't trust me and want to see the tag for yourself you can click on the picture to make it bigger. What I'm trying to show you is that the top layer of this shirt is 100% silk. I love silk. Especially on my curtains, but also on my body. I'm loving all the ruffles this year. And the length of the sleeve is perfection. I have long limbs so this is something I have to be aware of.

Why in the world would a gray top that could possibly look like a sweatshirt with ruffles be $155? That Ann Taylor is either full of herself or... ...it's 100% cashmere!!!!!! If it wasn't dry clean only I would likely wear it everyday. No, this doesn't actually meet the guidelines I established earlier. But you should know that I am usually cold ALL. DAY. LONG. And therefore, tend to cover up with a lovely fleece pullover. I thought this beautiful creamy sweater would look much nicer than the pullover when I'm wearing all my cute tops. And I was right, btw. Don't you just love the rhinestone clasp? Another steal. I practically floated out of the store on a cloud.

I haven't struck gold like this in a couple of years. It felt good.

Bridget

The Princess Room Pt. ? I can't remember.

2010-03-01T13:30:00.007-06:00

Disclaimer: these photos were taken on a very gray and dreary day. The colors are distorted due to the abundance of artificial light used. So, I was hoping that by announcing my plans to finish The Princess Room on the blog it would motivate me to actually finish the Princess Room.

Very rarely do things go according to plan. I still need to paint a small bookcase and two large picture frames and finish the top of the dresser. But I knew I couldn't not give you guys anything so here are some pics of the progress.

The white shelf that used to be over my t.v. is now over Princess' bed. It holds all her stuffed friends and now they don't end up all over her room anymore. Mama is happy.

This is her princess piggy bank and a peek at her curtains. I still have to line and hem them. That hasn't stopped me from going ahead and hanging them up though.

Her little pink jewelry box and a candy dish I swiped from McNana's* house when we were cleaning it out.

Her roses her daddy bought last Valentine's Day and some of my favorite baby pictures of her. And, yes, the flowers are real. I've kept them alive this long. ;-) The infamous red chair I had to decorate around. I do love going into her room and sitting in that chair. It's a great place to think. These flowers knobs are so cute and such a headache. Because of them, I now don't want to do my original plan for the top of the dresser so I'm back to the brainstorming phase of problem solving. And the bins from Target hold all her little shoes.

I promise to finish this room someday and then post pictures of the room as a whole for you to enjoy.

Bridget

*Both Hubs and my maternal grandmothers are known as Nana. To make it easier to know which Nana we are referring to we started calling Hub's Nana 'McNana' because her last name starts with Mc.

Oh, To Be 31 Again

2010-02-27T15:58:00.006-06:00

Oh, to be 31 again!
That seems so long ago!
Before all those grey hairs
And wrinkles started to show!

Oh, to be 31 again!
How that was a fun time!
My spouse was still aroused
Since I was in my prime!

Oh, to be 31 again!
It seems so much has changed!
Yes, every time I come home,
My house is rearranged!

Oh, to be 31 again!
Young and full of energy!
When I could sing and dance
And not have to ice down my knee!

Oh, to be 31 again!
Now I feel so old!
I didn't think I really was
But that is what I'm told!

Oh, to be 31 again!
My kids were younger, too!
Now every time I blink
They've grown an inch or two!

Oh, to be 31 again!
I wrote this poem to say!
Don't let Bridget off the hook;
She turns 31 today!

R.C.

Why Haven't I Been Doing This All Along?

2010-02-26T06:00:00.001-06:00

Seriously, people.

Why haven't I been spending the $5.oo it costs to have a beautiful centerpiece that makes me smile when I pass by it? It is even more obvious to me when I have fresh plants and flowers in my house why God created a garden for us to live in. It really does something for your soul to be around such beauty.

And I really love that our flowers are right in the middle of our everyday lives.

Literally.

Bridget

P.S. Make sure and come back on Monday for the Princess Room Reveal!

Head on Pillow.

2010-02-25T06:00:00.000-06:00

She's becoming more human everyday. And I'm sure she's wandering what all the fuss is about considering she sees us laying down like this everyday.

Bridget

Lighting the Way

2010-02-24T13:15:00.011-06:00

Lamps have been getting a makeover at my house lately. This lamp used to be on my desk until it got a new home in Princess' bedroom.

I'm gonna change the white ribbon out for white gimp. The ribbon doesn't lay flat like the gimp will. This fabric is actually from my sister's house. She gave me the leftovers from her curtains. I love it. The green is very similar to the green on the walls in Princess' room and it looks fabulous with her main fabric!

This is the lamp in the dining room.

It came from Ikea. I don't hate it, but I don't love it either. It's just a little too plain for me.

Notice the new curtains. They're faux silk. I love them.

Here's the shade after I added a little gimp. I had actually taped the gimp around a different lamp in my living room and loved it, but decided that the dining room fixture needed it more. It's a tiny change, but I love how it makes the fixture look so much more finished. It's just enough of a small detail. I just measured up from the bottom and down from the top one inch and drew a line with a pencil. Then I glued the gimp on with hot glue. It's not perfectly straight, but it's much better than I could do free hand. And from a normal distance, not a camera close-up, you can't see the imperfections as well. The gimp is a deep blue-green. One of my favorite colors.I love it when a small change makes a big difference.

Bridget

Doing Double Duty

2010-02-22T13:50:00.002-06:00

Have I mentioned that we live in a small house?

Remember - six people in 1200 sq. ft.

Things are tight.

However, the problem-solving and creative solutions thrill me.

Seriously.

Ask Husband. He knows that when I'm sitting in a room and it appears that I'm doing nothing, if you look really closely you can see the faint cloud of smoke coming out of my ears and know that the wheels are turning.

Things have been in a bit of an upheaval lately. As you know, Husband started a new job with the new year and now works from home. We set up his office in our bedroom because he needed a quite place to work and since the kids and I do school in the dining and living room that really was the best place.

Except:

It made me crazy.

Not kidding.

Along with our small house comes a small master bedroom. About 12x12. And since the small bedroom comes with a small closet we have to have a dresser in the bedroom. We already sleep on a full-sized bed to help everything fit and now we are adding a desk and chair. Ugh.

Basically, since Jan 1 the room has been arranged four different ways. I just could not get comfortable in there. And I know that some of you are probably thinking, "You rearrange your house all the time. What are you squawking about this for?" Folks, I don't rearrange the same room four times in 60 days. AND before we added the desk to the room it had been the same way for over a year. I was loving the setup.

And honestly it wasn't just the master bedroom. The whole house was feeling out of balance to me. Bobo's bedroom was just Bobo's bedroom.

Huh?

You see, every bedroom in our house does double duty except Bobo's. Princess' room is also the guest bedroom. Popeye and Bear's room is also the play room. Hub's and my bedroom is also his office. But Bobo's bedroom was just Bobo's bedroom. I needed it to do more.

So Husband and I started brainstorming possible solutions. Maybe we could move his office back into the 'batcave' and he and Bobo could just share the space. Husband doesn't bring clients into his office so it looking like an eleven year old's bedroom wasn't really an issue. Or maybe we could work our schedules out so we could put the desk back into the living room. Then the kids and I would do school in the morning and Husband could makes phone calls in the afternoon. Except, have you tried keeping four kids in one room of a house and quiet when it is cold and rainy for days on end?

Right.

Suffice it to say, none of our ideas where feeling quite right.

On Saturday we took a family trip to L-town for a little shopping. Bear needed some new jeans and Husband had a new suit to pick up. We decided to try to think outside the box while we were shopping and hopefully come up with a solution to our master bedroom/office problem.

It wasn't until we were almost home from our shopping trip that Husband had an idea. He wasn't really sure if I would like it and it did take me a few minutes of thinking it through before I loved the idea.

His idea was:

To move our schooling into Bobo's room.

Yes, really, that's it. But when I let it marinate in my mind it's brilliance was evident. You see, our school supplies are located in the hall closet. I have to get everything out and bring it to the table for school and then put it away when we are done. If I forget something I have to pause and leave the table to go get it. While I didn't realize this wasn't the most ideal situation, I guess I just figured it was my only option because of the size of our house.

Not any more.

Sunday afternoon Husband helped me rearrange everything for our new classroom. It works brilliantly. The desk is big enough for two of us to work at at a time and the shelves directly above it are big enough to keep everything within reach. We did school today and I NEVER HAD TO LEAVE THE DESK. Nor did I have to get everything out first and then pack it all away after.

I am loving this.

Of course, now I must paint the room. Right now three walls are a dusty dark blue. I'm thinking a light, bright green. And we are considering changing Bobo's twin bed for a full sized futon. That way we can use it as a couch during the day and Bobo will have a bigger bed at night. We've already found the one we want. =)

We have our master bedroom finally set up in an arrangement that I can live with. We solved that problem by removing the slipper chair we had in there (it's in the living room now) and putting the desk in it's place. Now the room is practically the same way it was before it inherited an office just with a desk instead of a big chair.

And now the house feels much more balanced to me. Every one's bedroom is doing double duty.

Just as it should be.

Bridget

Meet Millicent Pearl

2010-02-19T06:00:00.001-06:00

We got a cat on Tuesday. Her name is Millicent Pearl.

We decided on Millicent Pearl (Milli for short) for two reasons. 1. She has an M on her forehead so we wanted a name that started with M and 2. our dog is named Georgia Diamond (Gigi for short) and we wanted a name that fit with it.

Our friend said it sounded like we had two old ladies living with us. =) The more we are around her the more determined we are that Millicent fits her name perfectly. She tolerates Hubs and I, but loves the kids. She wants to be where ever they are. Wednesday night we shut all the kid's bedroom doors bc Milli kept jumping on the beds and bothering them. She slept under Hubs and my bed and cried for her kids all night long. She didn't come out from under our bed till the kids got up then she spent the morning in the kitchen with them.

Milli and Gigi aren't on speaking terms yet. Milli hides under Bear's bed while Gigi is in the house and growls at Gigi any time she dares come in to Bear and Popeye's room. Wednesday Gigi felt the need to check on her kids and the intruder every few minutes, but yesterday she didn't seem to really care. She checked on Milli a few times but mostly spent her time wherever I was.

The kids love Milli and keep telling us how much they love having a cat. I guess we're gonna have to change our 'about' section of the blog now.

Bridget

There's an Abundance of Old People.

2010-02-18T06:00:00.002-06:00

We were driving home from Walmart the other day.

On the route we take to get from Walmart to our house we pass the Assisted Living Center that Nana lives in. It is actually a complex of buildings including a Nursing Home.

They are in the process of building a new building in the complex and as we passed by Bobo thought out loud:

"So, they're adding extra rooms for the extra old people."

I chuckle evey time I think about it.

What a blessed generation we are to have old people in abundance.

Bridget

Family Bowling Night

2010-02-16T21:59:00.031-06:00

We had a family bowling night.

Bear had to tell Granddad something very important.

The kids love to bowl. And they have their coats on cause it was a little chilly in the bowling alley. Husband was all business. This was me playing with my camera. Popeye's mandatory 'smiling with the bowling ball' shot. Grandma's. We ate lots of pizza. Look at that form. The boys were great with helping Princess by moving the ramp for her. We also drank lots of sprite. And chilled by the hand dryer. Princess saw me taking pictures of Granddad and felt the need to stick her head in. I'm glad she did. Granddad's. More playing with the camera. I really should crop this photo. But, honestly, just getting the photos downloaded onto my computer and then this blog is enough work for me. The Grands. Husband felt the need to hijack the camera and take pictures of me. My glasses make my face look funny. Or maybe that's just the way it really looks. Princess had a mini melt down. Husband decided to join her. More stories for Granddad. Sillies.

Is that a word? I have hardly any pictures of my husband smiling like a normal person. The 'hair blowing in the hand dryer' picture. Lovely. He loves Grandma.Princess loves getting her picture taken. Chillin. The Crew. The Crew II.

Peace out,

B-girl Babi-1

A Little Ray of Sunshine

2010-02-13T06:00:00.001-06:00

I've had this ceramic pitcher sitting empty on my dining table for a month now.

I finally got around to buying some fresh flowers and chose yellow tulips with the help of Princess. They are very much a little ray of sunshine on these cold, gray, winter days.

Bridget

Sleeping Beauty in Pink

2010-02-12T06:00:00.000-06:00

We bought Princess a new comforter and shams set. This is her first comforter and shams set. She has always just used a quilt or blanket. It has worked just fine but since we were getting ourselves a new mattress and giving her our old one we firgured "Why not go all out and buy her some new bedding to go along with her 'new' bed."

But true to form we couldn't wait till she had the new bed to open and use the new bedding.

I took these pics the morning after her first night with the new bedding. My Princess all wrapped up in a sea of pink was too much for me to resist.

Even in sleep she was beckoned by the click, click of the camera.

And though her eyes were just too heavy to open she was still in perfect form for smiling.

Bridget

Watching Them Learn

2010-02-11T06:00:00.000-06:00

One of the biggest blessings of homeschooling is getting to witness so much of my children's lives.

And it is really amazing when you can actually see them learn.

The joy of learning really is contagious. And children seem to have it in abundance. I also believe that one way relationships are built is through shared experiences. I love getting to share these small experiences with my children. And I especially love hearing them tell me how much they enjoy it.

Bridget

The Dresser

2010-02-10T06:00:00.000-06:00

We found Princess a dresser. It is old and beat up and someone tried to do a green paint and glaze effect.

I love it.

We paid $65 for it.

I have fabulous plans for the top. I'm purchasing the materials this weekend and hope to have it done by the end of next week. I can't wait to show you. I love the lines of this dresser. The simple details. And I am totally leaving the green, glaze, funky treatment.

I am changing the knobs, however. And it's on wheels. Which is going to be very handy once I get done transforming the top. Plus, because it is up off the ground I can stash a couple of baskets under it for Princess' shoes.

Perfection. I'm also transforming the insides. Actually, I've already transformed the insides, but I don't want to show them until everything is done. It was all about having a nice clean drawer for Princess' clothes. I just couldn't put them inside without doing something and I was very ready to get her clothes out the the wire baskets they were in and into a bonafide dresser. So I got right on fixing the insides.

Plus, I moved the wire baskets to the laundry room and am loving the extra storage.

Bridget

It's February!

2010-02-09T14:58:00.007-06:00

People!

It's February!

And it's been over a week since I last blogged!

And there's really no need for me to keep writing individual sentences and using exclamation points!

But I can't seem to stop!

Kidding! =)

Seriously now. After Ice Age 2010 blew in we were without power from the afternoon of Thursday, Jan. 28th till the early morning of Wednesday, Feb. 3rd. Thankfully my parents in chicken Town had power and cable and a willingness to let us crash with them. We ended up staying with them until Friday the 5th because Hubs had work in the area and there was really no reason to do all that driving back and forth.

And unfortunately some people in our area are still without power.

However, we are really glad to be home now and getting back into our routine.

I have some posts scheduled for the rest of this week so come back often. And Princess' room is still under construction but I have hopes to have it mostly done by this weekend and fully done by the end of next week.

It's pretty awesome!

Bridget

Ice, Ice, Baby

2010-01-31T08:35:00.003-06:00

Last Thursday we were visited by a winter storm. A big one.

Wednesday evening we drove to Chicken Town because Hubs had some appointments in the area over the next few days. He didn't get to have any of those appointments. Thursday morning it hit.

However, we are so glad we came up here because we only went without power for about 2/3 of a day. A-town is still without power.

It's day four without power for the whole town.

And it doesn't look like it's gonna be back on for another day or two.

Yuck!

Friends and family are staying warm with wood burning fireplaces and gas heaters and stoves.

And it looks like we'll be in Chicken Town for a few more days.

Bridget